Mayor Fischer Announces The Members, Scope Of The Public Art And Monuments Advisory Committee

Mayor Fischer today announced the names of seven experts and community leaders who will serve on his new Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee.

Originally announced in December, the Committee is charged with developing a set of principles for evaluating Louisville’s existing public art and monuments.

Committee members represent a range of disciplines and perspectives, including art, history, community building, business and political science. The members include Tricia Burke, Carolle Jones Clay, Dr. Dewey Clayton, Ashley Haynes, Dr. Tom Owen, Dr. Chris Reitz and Cathy Shannon. Reitz and Shannon represent the Commission on Public Art.

The Committee’s first meeting will be from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 in the auditorium of the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library (301 York Street). From 5-5:30 p.m., Committee members will available for a meet-and-greet discussion format and the public is also invited to provide written comments during this time. Following the discussion, Committee members will summarize what they heard in the discussion and then discuss future meeting dates and public input strategies.

The scope of work for the Committee for January through June 2018 will include:

review processes, actions and outcomes employed by other cities;

develop strategies to receive public input;

work with Metro staff to gather and review historical research;

consider public opinion, historical research and the multi-disciplinary perspectives of Committee members in developing principles; and

produce a report outlining the Committee’s methods of inquiry and findings on the matter of establishing principles to guide decisions on whether to alter, preserve or remove public art and monuments.

The set of principles that the Committee is tasked with developing will acknowledge the complexities of Louisville’s past, as well as the values that matter to us today. They will be comprehensive, rather than specific to current controversies, and informed by the work of the city’s Commission on Public Art, Compassionate City initiatives, and Historic Preservation Advisory Task Force.

The Committee will consider the historical representation of our city’s existing public art and monuments and develop principles that aspire to make public spaces welcoming and reflective of our diverse community. The principles will guide the administration’s deliberation on whether to alter, to preserve or to remove public art and monuments that may be interpreted as honoring bigotry, racism and/or slavery.